The Skoda Fabia RS hot hatch is back – in spirit
10/25/2024 04:00 PM
Skoda’s smallest hot hatch is back – sort of. A new limited edition has been unveiled in Europe as the most powerful road-legal Fabia ever built.
The closest thing to a new road-going Skoda Fabia RS hot hatch – the Czech sibling to the Volkswagen Polo GTI – in a decade has broken cover in Europe.
The Fabia RS was last on sale in 2014 with a 1.4-litre turbo and supercharged engine – based on the Polo GTI of the time – but it has not returned on the two generations of Skoda’s city car sold since.
While there are still no plans for a new Fabia RS, Skoda’s Spanish division has announced a new limited-edition of the regular Fabia with more power, sportier styling and revised suspension in the same vein as the brand’s RS cars.
MORE: 2023 Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo review
Known as the ‘Fabia Rally2 limited-edition by “Rocket” Suarez’, it is limited to 100 examples exclusive to Spain, and celebrates rally driver José Antonio Suarez’s wins in the Super Championship of Spain Rally behind the wheel of a competition Fabia Rally2.
The limited-edition retains the Monte Carlo’s 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine, but adds a ‘power kit’ from German tuning firm ABT Sportsline.
It develops 140kW and 290Nm – up from the regular model’s 110kW/250Nm, and a 2015 Fabia RS hatch’s 132kW/250Nm, but down on a new 2.0-litre turbo Polo GTI’s 152kW/320Nm.
MORE: New Skoda Fabia RS hot hatch unlikely, electric model ruled out
The engine is matched with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. No 0-100km/h time is claimed; the regular 1.5-litre Fabia quotes an 8.0-second sprint.
The limited-edition sits 15mm lower on sports suspension than a base-model Fabia – but no different to a Monte Carlo – while it is finished in Mamba Green, a colour typically reserved for Skoda RS cars, and not currently offered on the Fabia.
Other upgrades include; 17-inch black OZ Racing Superturismo WRC wheels, Michelin Pilot Sport 5 tyres, a black rear spoiler extension, black mudguards, and a series of ABT, Rally2 and S-CER logos.
Inside, there are black front sports seats, and a sports steering wheel with a Rally2 badge.
The 2025 Skoda Fabia Rally2 special edition is on sale now in Spain, priced from €30,900 ($AU50,000) – about €5000 ($AU8000) less than a Volkswagen Polo GTI, but about €2000 ($AU3200) more than a regular 1.5-litre Fabia Monte Carlo.
The limited-edition will not be sold outside of Spain.
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